Wednesday, May 17, 2006

THE COPY/SOUTH DOSSIER:Issues in the economics, politics, and ideology of copyright in the global South

PRESS RELEASE: 17 May 2006

THE COPY/SOUTH DOSSIERIssues in the economics, politics, and ideology of copyright in the globalSouth.Researched and published by the Copy/South Research GroupMay 2006ISBN: 978-0-9553140-1-8 (printed edition)Not restricted by copyright

OVERVIEW:The aim of the dossier is to open up debate on the real impact ofcopyright laws affecting the people of the more than 150 developingcountries in the Global South, many of whom have never read a book, haveno access to the Internet and are facing an indeterminate future. Thedossier highlights issues that are not only unique to the Global South,but also focuses on those issues that affect both sides of the North -South divide. This dossier is addressed to the general public,researchers, educators, librarians, activists, and organizations concernedabout access to knowledge who want to learn more about the global role ofcopyright and, in particular, copyright's largely negative role indeveloping countries of the global South. In more than 50 articlestotalling 215 pages, we, in the Copy/South Research Group, who haveresearched and debated these issues over the past 12 months, have tried tocritically analyse and assess a wide range of copyright-related issuesthat impact on the daily lives (and future lives) of those who live in theglobal South.

BACKGROUND:How did the Copy/South dossier come into being? A first and draft versionwas prepared for a four-day intensive workshop held in August 2005 at theUniversity of Kent in the United Kingdom and organised by the Copy/SouthResearch Group. Of the 22 people who attended this 'by invitation only'session, more than 15 were from countries of the South. At this lively andvery informative session, the draft dossier was subjected to some sharpcriticisms; numerous suggestions for improvement were made, and additionalarticles and research angles proposed. A second version was circulatedinternally in January 2006. Further changes were made and this thirdversion is the public version. It is a work of North/South collaboration,a product of the sharing of knowledge.

TO GET A COPY OF THE DOSSIER:The dossier is being distributed for free. Go to the Copy/South websitehttp://www.copysouth.org/, download the dossier, and print it offyourself. It is available in various formats (PDF and RTF) and in files ofvarious lengths to accommodate various download capacities. Alternatively,contact us by e-mail contact@copysouth.org , and we can post you a copyof the dossier, either as a printed copy or as a CD.

CONTACT:If you wish to contact The Copy/South Research Group for any reason -- forexample, to make criticisms of the dossier, to give your own examples, tojoin in the future research effort -- our e-mail address is:contact@copysouth.org .